If necessary, you can review the the IPlan Assignment sheet here. Complete the process shown in the diagram below by following the steps and answering the questions for each step.
I-Plan Assignment a.Take a few minutes to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher.
Working with children over the last several years, it is obvious to me that I really enjoy being around them because their playfulness and resilience are something I never want to lose growing up. My strengths come from being able to relate to the students in the sense that I understand their immaturity, but being an adult, I know when to come back to reality. I think it is important to let students express themselves and share their experiences with the community to support self-confidence and develop a mutual respect so I can have their attention when it is my turn to speak.
My strengths can also be seen as a weakness because I worry sometimes that I let the students talk too much or go off on a tangent and lose sight of the content they are learning. I also always want to please people and I sometimes have trouble accepting that not everything I do as a teacher will be fun and every student will enjoy it. Sometimes things just need to be done and I can't please everyone all the time. b.Describe some of your students' strengths and needs that you have noticed so far.
I have observed a broad range of students based in their strengths and abilities, but the overall need that students have is to teacher recognition. Whether it is for something commendable or something inappropriate, students want to be noticed and recognized by their teachers. There are many students in my classes that always raise their hand and are willing to share their ideas. I would say the strongest characteristic I see in these students is willingness and fearlessness of sharing their thoughts. It is much different than what I remember of myself in middle school or high school because I was always worried I wouldn't say what the teacher wanted to hear.
More specific needs for some of the students that were mentioned in the SALT report are opportunities to read aloud, write, and problem solve in collaborative groups. The report was from 2003 and I would say that some of the students needs have been met and exceeded the recommendation based on the SALT report.
c. Download and complete this URI Self Evaluation form based on one of the lessons you taught last week. Be sure to write down specific evidence from either your lesson plan or your memory of your enactment for each assessment you give. Use a highlighter to identify areas of your teaching/lesson that were either below standard or that you feel needs improvement.
a. Review your school improvement document(s). (If you forgot them, download a SALT visit.)
b. Synthesize your review by completing the following table as best your can:
What is the need?
How will improvement help your students?
How will improvement help your school?
RIBT Standard/Element Addressed?
1.
Opportunities to work in groups = less isolation(collaborative efforts).
Students will be more comfortable in social situations and learn from each other's example instead of watching and listening to the teacher explanations the whole time. Students will have preparation for the business world when the need to communicate with co-workers effectively.
Having students work in groups will allow them to be more familiar with classmates building stronger relationships helping the school be identified as a family community.
1.1, 1.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.2, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 8.4, 9.3
2.
A sense of belonging and team/cluster identity
Students will fulfill the need of relating to someone else and build self-confidence in knowing what their cluster stands for or represents. No student will be excluded from the team identity. They will also see the relationships among the teachers as a model of successful working friendships.
The school will be recognized as a desirable place to learn because the teams are proud of their relationships and identify a common goal. Teachers will feel more comfortable using each other as resources so hopefully better ideas for effective teaching will result.
2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 4.2, 4.1, 4.4
3.
Recognition for individual accomplishments
Students will continue to work well or strive for excellence because they feel pride and joy when they are praised for their accomplishments.
The school will have increased morale because its students are proud of themselves and production of quality work will increase, hopefully increasing the school's credibilty and possibly improving data from the SALT team reports.
S.a, S.b, S.c, S.d, 9.3, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.4
4.
Opportunities to write and problem solve
Students will develop higher cognitive skills and increase the speed at which they can write and solve problems. Being able to share solutions and read aloud will increase student assurance that they can ask for help or continue in the right direction.
If teachers use writing and problem solving more consistently then students will have a common routine among their classes allowing for smooth operation and overall good school morale.
Formulate a professional development goal based the needs that you have identified. This goal should be:
measurable/observable
should lead to improvement of teaching, student achievement, and/or improvement of learning environment.
should describe new knowledge or skills that you will acquire and how that knowledge/skill will affect the school/district setting.
linked to applicable Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards and elements, e.g. RIBTS 2.4.
In the space below, describe your professional development goal. In a second paragraph, use the information above to provide a rationale for your goal by explaining the personal need that it will address as well as how addressing this goal benefits your students and your school. I. Professional Development Goal
My professional development goal is to learn more strategies for doing group activities and successfully incorporate them into my teaching. I want to have students work together as often as possible and find a way to still hold individuals accountable for their actions. I am hoping to do this by having set jobs for each student during the group activity, marking what each student's role was and then making sure they have a different job the next time we do a group activity. I find that too many times during group activities only one or two students do most of the work, while the other students in the group just follow and are left not understanding the activity or its purpose. Each time we have group work the students would share one piece of paper and each write on it their responsibilities. They would still be able to work together to complete the assignment, but they would have to show what their major contributions to the finished product. I also want to incorporate more problem solving questions into my teaching, which the students can work on in groups and separately. I hope to learn, through possible workshops and/or on-line resources, several examples of problem solving questions that would involve physical, life, and earth and space sciences.
I chose this as my professional development goal because it fits with the recommendations for Gaudet Middle School from the SALT report. Based on the data the team collected they found that Gaudet should provide its students with more opportunities to work in groups and more opportunities to do problem solving activities. If the students have more group work then they will have more practice having to cooperate with one another and learn tolerance for each other's differences, such as the rate at which individuals process and comprehend new information. If students can increase their tolerance and patience with others then it should help them be less stressed with daily life as they reach adulthood. The reason I added the accountability portion is because it will help with individual grading if so many assignments and activities involve group effort. With the problem solving aspect of my professional development goal I hope that a more frequent practice of problem solving will stimulate higher cognitive learning in the students which enables them to diversify their thoughts and have multiple options for solving a problem.
These goals link to RIBTS 5.1, 5.2, 5.5 (...encourage students' development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills), 6.5, 6.6, 6.7 (...encourages appropriate standards of behavior, positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation), and 7.4.
Now that you have a PD goal, think about what type of learning opportunities you will participate in to address your needs. Use these links to investigate learning options:
Based on what you have found out, write a 1-2 paragraph narrative outlining at least two ways (PD categories) you will engage in engage in by the end of your first year of teaching. For each activity, explain how you think it will address the need that you have identified.
II. Professional Development Plan
Conferences/ Workshops & Training Sessions
I would attend workshops and conferences based in expanding science knowledge and ways to support differentiated instruction. Searching online I found that several workshops and training sessions are offered in strategies and teaching tools to support differentiated instruction. Increased knowledge in this area would help me confidently use grouping activities because the workshops demonstrate and practice how to bring all students to higher cognitive learning and allow for different levels of learners to gain and retain the same knowledge working in groups. A deeper understanding of differentiated instruction will also help me target various levels of complexity and mastery based on what I know of the students so that each student can have a role in group activities.
Professional Networks
Through professional networks I hope to learn some strategies for using group work effectively while still holding each student accountable for his/her contribution. I would do this by seeking out my colleagues at school and gather ideas based on techniques they have used to do group activities. I would also join a website such as teacherstoteachers.com to probe for possible ideas so I can have a continual source for differerent grouping ideas and possible examples of problem solving questions. This will help me plan lessons and create my own ideas based on they examples I have seen. I could even use the original ideas as they are presented to me if they seem to be an effective and useful way to help students enjoy and actively participate in their learning.
Print your PD plan to PDF
Post your PD Plan to True Outcomes
Return to True Outcomes to evaluate a peer's plan the following week.
EDC 484 IPlan Synthesis
If necessary, you can review the the IPlan Assignment sheet here. Complete the process shown in the diagram below by following the steps and answering the questions for each step.
You can review the Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards (RIBTs) here.
I-Plan Assignment
a. Take a few minutes to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher.
Working with children over the last several years, it is obvious to me that I really enjoy being around them because their playfulness and resilience are something I never want to lose growing up. My strengths come from being able to relate to the students in the sense that I understand their immaturity, but being an adult, I know when to come back to reality. I think it is important to let students express themselves and share their experiences with the community to support self-confidence and develop a mutual respect so I can have their attention when it is my turn to speak.
My strengths can also be seen as a weakness because I worry sometimes that I let the students talk too much or go off on a tangent and lose sight of the content they are learning. I also always want to please people and I sometimes have trouble accepting that not everything I do as a teacher will be fun and every student will enjoy it. Sometimes things just need to be done and I can't please everyone all the time.
b. Describe some of your students' strengths and needs that you have noticed so far.
I have observed a broad range of students based in their strengths and abilities, but the overall need that students have is to teacher recognition. Whether it is for something commendable or something inappropriate, students want to be noticed and recognized by their teachers. There are many students in my classes that always raise their hand and are willing to share their ideas. I would say the strongest characteristic I see in these students is willingness and fearlessness of sharing their thoughts. It is much different than what I remember of myself in middle school or high school because I was always worried I wouldn't say what the teacher wanted to hear.
More specific needs for some of the students that were mentioned in the SALT report are opportunities to read aloud, write, and problem solve in collaborative groups. The report was from 2003 and I would say that some of the students needs have been met and exceeded the recommendation based on the SALT report.
c. Download and complete this URI Self Evaluation form based on one of the lessons you taught last week. Be sure to write down specific evidence from either your lesson plan or your memory of your enactment for each assessment you give. Use a highlighter to identify areas of your teaching/lesson that were either below standard or that you feel needs improvement.
My observation form:
a. Review your school improvement document(s). (If you forgot them, download a SALT visit.)
b. Synthesize your review by completing the following table as best your can:
Formulate a professional development goal based the needs that you have identified. This goal should be:
In the space below, describe your professional development goal. In a second paragraph, use the information above to provide a rationale for your goal by explaining the personal need that it will address as well as how addressing this goal benefits your students and your school.
I. Professional Development Goal
My professional development goal is to learn more strategies for doing group activities and successfully incorporate them into my teaching. I want to have students work together as often as possible and find a way to still hold individuals accountable for their actions. I am hoping to do this by having set jobs for each student during the group activity, marking what each student's role was and then making sure they have a different job the next time we do a group activity. I find that too many times during group activities only one or two students do most of the work, while the other students in the group just follow and are left not understanding the activity or its purpose. Each time we have group work the students would share one piece of paper and each write on it their responsibilities. They would still be able to work together to complete the assignment, but they would have to show what their major contributions to the finished product. I also want to incorporate more problem solving questions into my teaching, which the students can work on in groups and separately. I hope to learn, through possible workshops and/or on-line resources, several examples of problem solving questions that would involve physical, life, and earth and space sciences.
I chose this as my professional development goal because it fits with the recommendations for Gaudet Middle School from the SALT report. Based on the data the team collected they found that Gaudet should provide its students with more opportunities to work in groups and more opportunities to do problem solving activities. If the students have more group work then they will have more practice having to cooperate with one another and learn tolerance for each other's differences, such as the rate at which individuals process and comprehend new information. If students can increase their tolerance and patience with others then it should help them be less stressed with daily life as they reach adulthood. The reason I added the accountability portion is because it will help with individual grading if so many assignments and activities involve group effort. With the problem solving aspect of my professional development goal I hope that a more frequent practice of problem solving will stimulate higher cognitive learning in the students which enables them to diversify their thoughts and have multiple options for solving a problem.
These goals link to RIBTS 5.1, 5.2, 5.5 (...encourage students' development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills), 6.5, 6.6, 6.7 (...encourages appropriate standards of behavior, positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation), and 7.4.
Now that you have a PD goal, think about what type of learning opportunities you will participate in to address your needs. Use these links to investigate learning options:
Based on what you have found out, write a 1-2 paragraph narrative outlining at least two ways (PD categories) you will engage in engage in by the end of your first year of teaching. For each activity, explain how you think it will address the need that you have identified.
II. Professional Development Plan
Conferences/ Workshops & Training Sessions
I would attend workshops and conferences based in expanding science knowledge and ways to support differentiated instruction. Searching online I found that several workshops and training sessions are offered in strategies and teaching tools to support differentiated instruction. Increased knowledge in this area would help me confidently use grouping activities because the workshops demonstrate and practice how to bring all students to higher cognitive learning and allow for different levels of learners to gain and retain the same knowledge working in groups. A deeper understanding of differentiated instruction will also help me target various levels of complexity and mastery based on what I know of the students so that each student can have a role in group activities.
Professional Networks
Through professional networks I hope to learn some strategies for using group work effectively while still holding each student accountable for his/her contribution. I would do this by seeking out my colleagues at school and gather ideas based on techniques they have used to do group activities. I would also join a website such as teacherstoteachers.com to probe for possible ideas so I can have a continual source for differerent grouping ideas and possible examples of problem solving questions. This will help me plan lessons and create my own ideas based on they examples I have seen. I could even use the original ideas as they are presented to me if they seem to be an effective and useful way to help students enjoy and actively participate in their learning.